"The Carter" is one of the biggest landmarks in Southwest Fort Worth. Opened in 1930, this stadium has seen the likes of Slingin' Sammy Baugh, Davy O' Brien, and Ladanian Tomlinson, a switch from grass, to turf, and back to grass, and even a successful New Year's Eve College Bowl Game. This stadium is showing it's age, but it is also going through a $75 million renovation and possible expansion, thanks in part to the renaissance the TCU football program over the past 11 years.

As a fan of the team with the oldest 1A venue and having watched that historic structure become so mistreated and disrespected...*sigh*... I'm all for seeing such venerable grand stadiums being beautifully restored and improved. I know it'd be a costly investment for such a small school but the end result would be something inspiring rather than simply functional. For the sake of football I'd love to see this renovation come to fruition.

__________________"How can anybody be enlightened? Truth is after all so poorly lit."

As a fan of the team with the oldest 1A venue and having watched that historic structure become so mistreated and disrespected...*sigh*... I'm all for seeing such venerable grand stadiums being beautifully restored and improved. I know it'd be a costly investment for such a small school but the end result would be something inspiring rather than simply functional. For the sake of football I'd love to see this renovation come to fruition.

TCU HAS enough money. At least, to get one side done, anyway.

They're just trying to build on more money with donations and rewards for the team's victories and post season appearances to speed up this process. Last year's invite to the Fiesta Bowl was a big plus.

And one thing the city of Fort Worth is good for is restoration. This project is supposed to be (let's say) both a restoration AND renovation. I don't believe they're touching the lower bowl. The facade is supposed to mirror the days when ALL stadiums were art deco. Good thing too, because that's one of this city's main styles of architecture.

This plan would be done in phases, of course. The first phase is to knock down the second tier and pressbox, then renovating the home side, interior and exterior, and adding a remodeled 2nd tier with a few more boxes and better design (because the current second tier does seem a little too steep). The second phase would be to work on the visitor's side, interior and exterior. And later on, adding more seats and video boards to the south side.

All this is scheduled to begin as early as the end of next season and last for about 4-7 years, give or take.....

Recent renovations to modernize amenities and increase capacity greatly compromised the architecture. No convenient way to marry preservation standards with modern building standards, so rather than over-invest the way TCU would be doing GT opted for cheap because the Institute has money ($1.4B in endowments, etc) but the athletic association is cash poor.

Enough GT, though. Let's celebrate the vision of the folks in Fort Worth.

__________________"How can anybody be enlightened? Truth is after all so poorly lit."

My biggest problem with the project is that the team rarely sells out games even when the entire student body can get into games for free. The DFW market is saturated with football, but people do not go to TCU or SMU games like the did back in the days of the Southwest Conference. I understand the need for more luxury seating as well as the school's plan to increase enrollment to over 10K, but adding six thousand more seats seems too much.

FYI, TCU traditionally has all funding in place before starting projects. Their new Student Center and Rec Center were the first two projects which they borrowed money to build.

My biggest problem with the project is that the team rarely sells out games even when the entire student body can get into games for free. The DFW market is saturated with football, but people do not go to TCU or SMU games like the did back in the days of the Southwest Conference. I understand the need for more luxury seating as well as the school's plan to increase enrollment to over 10K, but adding six thousand more seats seems too much.

FYI, TCU traditionally has all funding in place before starting projects. Their new Student Center and Rec Center were the first two projects which they borrowed money to build.

With the way the team is winning and recruiting, I have a feeling that's gonna start changing. Also, the plan isn't to add to capacity right away. In fact, there could be a slight reduction of seating for the time being. The capacity additions wont come until a couple years after the main plan is done.

And I knew that about TCU. This school likes to be secure in funding before starting any big projects. But after last season's big boost and presumably this season, the renovation should be on schedule.

My biggest problem with the project is that the team rarely sells out games even when the entire student body can get into games for free. The DFW market is saturated with football, but people do not go to TCU or SMU games like the did back in the days of the Southwest Conference. I understand the need for more luxury seating as well as the school's plan to increase enrollment to over 10K, but adding six thousand more seats seems too much.

More fans would show up if TCU got an invite to the Big 12, and a newer, larger facility would help.

It would also attract more blue-chip recruits and help keep Gary Patterson in Fort Worth, even though he's adamantly declared in the past he doesn't feel like moving again (he's already turned down Minnesota and his alma-mater, Kansas State).